The U.N. General Assembly will vote Wednesday on a Palestinian resolution demanding that Israel end its "unlawful presence" in Gaza and the occupied West Bank within a year, withdraw its military forces and evacuate all settlers.

The resolution is being put to a vote in the 193-member assembly as Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza approaches its first anniversary and as violence in the West Bank reaches new highs. The war was triggered by Hamas attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discussed heightened Middle East tensions with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Tuesday, saying it is important to reduce them, the Pentagon announced.

The call between the defense chiefs came on the same day that hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded in an attack the Lebanese militant group blamed on Israel, but the Pentagon declined to say whether the explosions were discussed.

Fourteen people were wounded in Syria on Tuesday when pagers used by Hezbollah exploded, a Britain-based war monitor said, adding to a toll of at least eight dead and 2,750 wounded in Lebanon.

"Fourteen people whose nationalities are unknown have been wounded in Damascus and its countryside after pagers used by Hezbollah exploded," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that some of its members had been wounded in pager blasts in neighboring Syria, without specifying how many.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi vowed on Wednesday to intensify Gaza peace talks in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken aimed at salvaging the negotiations.

Blinken's visit to Cairo came hours after a wave of deadly blasts targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon that further complicated the Gaza talks.

Qatar's foreign ministry said Tuesday efforts to forge a Gaza truce were "ongoing", after several rounds of talks aimed at ending the now 11-month war ended without a breakthrough.

Salvagers successfully towed a Greek-flagged oil tanker ablaze for weeks after attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels to a safe area without any oil spill, a European Union naval mission said.

The Sounion reached waters away from Yemen as the Houthis meanwhile claimed that they shot down another American-made MQ-9 Reaper drone, with video circulating online showing what appeared to be a surface-to-air missile strike and flaming wreckage strewn across the ground.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has accused Israel's military of striking schools, humanitarian workers and civilians in Gaza in a sign of growing American frustration with its close ally as the war approaches its first anniversary.

Israel has repeatedly said it targets Hamas militants, who often hide with civilians and use them as human shields, in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and launched the war in Gaza.

Palestinian officials said Israel has struck a number of homes in the central Gaza Strip, killing at least four people, including a child. The Civil Defense first responders say more people are trapped under the rubble and the toll is likely to rise after the strikes early Tuesday.

Another strike late Monday in Gaza City killed a man, his wife and child, according to the Civil Defense.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will address Gaza ceasefire efforts with Egyptian officials this week, the State Department said Monday, as he visits the key U.S. ally which has played an important role in truce talks.

Blinken "will meet with Egyptian officials to discuss ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of all hostages, alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people, and helps establish broader regional security," spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said on Monday the Palestinian group was prepared for prolonged fighting against Israel, in a message to Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels nearly a year into the Gaza war.